Utopianism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Utopianism - Essay Example German intellectuals living in (and hating) the loosely organized Bund provided much of the vocabulary for nationalism, stating that each nation had a particular Volksgeist, or national spirit. They strongly advocated a fierce wave of patriotism. Soon, almost every European language group wanted to have their own nation. Quickly outlawed by reactionary forces, nationalist groups formed secret societies such as the Italian Carbonari and German Buschenschaft. These societies distributed propaganda leaflets and plotted rebellions which later formed a very important part of literature. Often, nationalism combined with other ideological issues, from liberalism to socialism. A natural outcome of Nationalism was Radicalism. Radicalism appeared almost simultaneously in the 1820s in England as the "Philosophical Radicals". They were a principled and unconventional group and consisted partially of workers and partially of industrialists. Their greatest leader was Jeremy Bentham. The Radicals w ere against the church and anti-monarchy. They were generally opposed to traditional ways. They were a force by themselves until 1832, after which they merged with the British Liberals. The European counterpart to Radicalism was usually referred to as Republicanism, which grew out of the French Revolutionary tradition. Republicanism sought complete political equality in the form of universal suffrage. Republicanism also opposed monarchy and the Catholic Church.